Food Security Device

ABSTRACT

A container for preserving food and locking food. Containers, particularly food containers, are sized to be similar to conventional plate sizes and glass sizes. Users can simply place a plate of unfinished food or an unfinished drink in the present invention for storage. A locking mechanism prevents unauthorized access to the food, i.e. by hungry roommates. The present invention thereby solves a long-standing problem and makes storage in a community refrigerator not only possible but practical.

This application is a utility application claiming priority to U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 60/521,574 filed on May 26, 2004.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to food containers of different typeslikes beverage cans, food dish and multipurpose bowls etc. Itparticularly relates to providing locking mechanisms to avoid food beingstolen when kept in a common place both from humans and animals. It alsohelps in preserving the freshness and taste of food kept in them.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many individuals live alone, an in such cases, any food that is placedin a refrigerator or cabinet by an individual will remain in storageuntil the food is disturbed by the individual. For example, if anindividual living alone has left over pizza, then the pizza will remainundisturbed if the pizza is left out on a counter or stored in arefrigerator. Similarly, if a drink is not finished, and the cup ismerely placed back in a refrigerator, the drink will not be consumed byanyone but the individual living alone—simply because there is no otherindividual in the living arrangement.

Thus, food is relatively secure and remains undisturbed, but for theindividual accessing food. However, oftentimes living arrangements existwhere multiple individuals share a common refrigerator and/or eatingspace. For example, a typical family shares a kitchen, and arrangementswhereby roommates share eating areas are common with several friends orcollege students living together. In such circumstances, the possibilityoften presents itself for one individual to have left over or partiallyconsumed food, and another individual will simply finish the food. Whileall individuals are generally altruistic, food tends to be personal, andsome individuals even view it as a reward. It then follows that if afirst individual leaves food to be eaten later, and then a secondindividual consumes the food to be eaten later, the first individualwill be disappointed, annoyed, angered, or possibly all of the above.Unfortunately, no matter the first individual's reaction, the firstindividual will have been deprived of food that was expected anddesired.

Thus, there is a need for a food containment device that prevents accessfrom unwanted food predators. There is a need for a food containmentdevice that is fully functional in storing the food, while at the sametime offering the added security of locking. Moreover, there is a needfor such a locking food container to not merely hold itself closed bylocking, but such a locking food container needs to lock so that onlythe individual originally locking the food container has the ability toopen it.

The following relevant art has dealt with the field of food storage andlocking etc. in general, but has not provided solutions for individualcontainers used by people in their workplace, home, and so forth.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,118,032 issued to Geho on Jun. 2, 1992, refers to acontainer for a flat food product is formed from a one-piece blank toprovide a multisided container having a front panel, first and secondopposing side panels, third and fourth opposing side panels, first andsecond perforated portions interconnecting said first and third opposingside panels and said second and fourth opposing side panels,respectively, a rear panel, and a top. The six-sided design providesless air space in the container, thus contributing to the maintenance ofthe temperature of the food product contained therein. Unlike thepresent invention, Geho's device does not prevent unauthorized usersfrom accessing the food held therein.

Japanese Patent Number 11342946 published on Dec. 14, 1999, invented byTatsuo refers to providing a food packaging container wherein an entirelid including a periphery is formed to be stackable and stability offitting of the lid is excellent due to an easy-to-operate lockingstructure. The food packaging container made of a synthetic resincomprises a flange-like container body 1 whose opening rim at an upperend of a peripheral side wall extends outward and a lid 2 which can beput thereover. The entire lid 2 including a periphery to be mounted onthe opening rim of the container body 1 is formed to be stackable, whilelocking parts 24 to be fitted in and locked with notch engaging parts 14provided at corresponding portions of the opening rim of the containerbody 1 are formed at a plurality of portions. Unlike the presentinvention, Tatsuo's device does not prevent unauthorized users fromaccessing the food held therein.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,012,971 issued on May 7, 1991, to Cozzi et al. refers toa food container and method wherein a compartmented container that isespecially suitable for containing food is provided. The container orpackage in one embodiment comprises a first or bottom compartment and asecond or top compartment that is hinged to the first compartment. Thetwo compartments being especially adapted for separately containing thecontents of the two compartments. The container further includes a latchmechanism composed of a locking latch extending from one compartment anda locking aperture in the other compartment into which the latch can beinserted when the container is in the closed position. A removableplatform forms part of the container and is positionable over the openportion of one of the compartments. Unlike the present invention, Cozziet al.'s device does not prevent unauthorized users from accessing thefood held therein.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,052,369 issued to Johnson on Oct. 1, 1991, refers to aheat retaining food container and improved heat retaining foodservicesystem including a heat retaining food cover (10), food container (310)and underbase (210), each including a heat storage system comprised of asealed chamber therewithin, said chamber containing a layer ofnon-metallic heat storing material, such as micro crystalline waxenclosed by a layer of film for keeping food warmer for longer periodsof time. Preferably, the food cover, container and underbase are eachconstructed of high-temperature stable polymeric material which istransparent to microwave radiation to facilitate heating of the heatstoring material by use of a microwave oven, as well as by aconventional convection or radiant heat type oven. Unlike the presentinvention, Johnson's device does not prevent unauthorized users fromaccessing the food held therein.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,204,130 issued to McDevitt et al. on Apr. 20, 1993,refers to a reclosable container for sliced food products; thereclosable container for sliced food products having a one-piececontainer body and integral hinge and lid. The front wall of thecontainer body is provided with a forward protrusion to facilitateremoval of a desired number of slices. A locking mechanism enables thelid to be locked in closed position, and provides an audible indicationwhen the lid is locked. The container is reusable and may be made from apolymeric material having sufficient transparency to enable the consumerto count slices viewed through the front wall as they are being removed.Unlike the present invention, McDevitt et al.'s device does not preventunauthorized users from accessing the food held therein.

The relevant art does not attend to the problem of theft of food byothers in general from food containers, particularly at a user's workspot, shared home living arrangements, etc.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to containers, particularly foodcontainers, having provisions for preserving food and beverages etc andhaving lock mechanisms for preventing their unauthorized access byothers than the specified user. It thereby solves a long-standingproblem.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an environmental view of a first embodiment of the presentinvention, wherein the top is screwed on to the bottom or snapped shut.This embodiment is intended for beverages, and a provision is made onthe container for attaching a locking means.

FIG. 2 is an environmental view of a second embodiment of the presentinvention showing a compartmentalized bottom container with a top. Thisembodiment is intended for a food dish holding portions of food from adish, and a provision is made on the container for attaching a lockingmeans.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention is a locking container system for preserving food,not only from spoilage, but from other individuals desiring to gainaccess to and eat stored food.

While a container that is part of the present can be of varied shapesand sizes, it is preferred that the present invention be slightly largerthan conventionally sized glasses and plates, such that a conventionalglass or plate could be placed inside the container of the presentinvention. A user could either place food in the container of thepresent invention, or the user could merely put the a plate or glassfull of food inside the container of the present invention.

Further, the present invention can be in the shape of beverage cans toprovide security and storage for beverage cans. Additionally, thepresent invention may be in the shape of variously shaped dishes. Thepresent invention may be optionally in the form of rectangle shape formulti usage if several small plates are to be stored together. Thepresent invention can be in form of a large bowl shape for accommodationof multiple bowls and/or plates.

The present invention can be made either of metal, plastic, or any otherconventional material used for storage. The material can be microwavableplastic for ease in reheating stored food and/or beverages.

As aforementioned, the present invention is variously sized to receivethe conventional shapes of dishes, glasses, and other eating surfaces.

In one preferred embodiment of the invention, the container can receivethe dinner plates in particular, and hold them securely.

The container of the present invention can be made such that food can betransferred to it, the container being shaped to suit the needs of theuser in that it can be of varied shapes to hold nearly any type ofedible item and/or the food holder holding the edible item.

Alternatively, as aforementioned, the present invention can be made insuch size and shape to hold, for example, the beverage can, food dish,or dish plate, etc. so that without transferring the food to thecontainer of the present invention, the dish plate, for example, can beinserted in to the container, and the locking means used for locking thecontainer.

The locking means of the present invention can be a combination lockmeans or key lock means, or any conventional locking system that hassecurity. The locks of the present invention are non-specific in thatany conventional locks will work. The preferred embodiment providesloops on the lid of the present invention as well as on the actualcontainer of the present invention. A conventional lock goes throughboth loops so that the lid and container cannot separate unless the lockis removed. It is contemplated that conventional padlocks abound and arerelatively inexpensive, and thus, the loops of the lid and container ofthe preferred embodiment of the present invention cater to such.

In practice, the user stores food in the container directly or insertsthe dish or plate containing the food or beverage directly into thecontainer. Using the locking means the container is locked. The userthus secures its food from being pilfered or stolen by others. Moreoverby selecting the appropriate material for the container, the freshnessof food is also maintained. For example, the container of the presentinvention could be made of an insulating material to ensure that foodcontained within is kept hot or cold. Alternatively, the container ofthe present invention could be made porous to allow the food to receivefresh air.

As said above, in a preferred embodiment, the containers are sizedrather oversized to receive the beverage can or food dish, etc. intothem to avoid transferring the food into the containers.

In FIG. 1, the container comprises the bottom body (1), the lid (2).Both the body (1) and the lid (2) have first and second loops (3, 4),respectively, for attaching a conventional locking means (20). Thisembodiment is dimensioned in the shape of a cylinder to hold aconventional beverage or beverage container. For example, thisembodiment could be sized to hold a conventional 20 ounce beveragecontainer, or receive 20 ounces of a beverage. The embodiment would thenbe locked by opening conventional locking means (20) and placingconventional locking means (20) through first and second loops (3, 4).

FIG. 2 shows the present invention in the shape of a compartmentalizedcontainer having three compartments. In a preferred embodiment, thepresent invention has three compartments, although the number ofcompartments can be any number as desired by the user. As shown in FIG.2, the container of the present invention has lower portion (5), upperportion (6) and the first and second hoops means (7, 8) respectively,for attaching conventional locking means (20)—conventional locking means(20) having been shown in FIG. 1.

It is to be understood that other shapes and sizes, other than thoseshown in FIGS. 1 and 2, are contemplated for the present invention, andvarious types of conventional locking means can be employed beyond thatwhich has been illustrated in FIG. 1.

Although illustrative embodiments of the present invention have beendescribed herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is tobe understood that the invention is not limited to those preciseembodiments, and that various other changes and modifications may beaffected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from thescope or spirit of the invention described in the following claims.

1. A food containing system, comprising: a top; a bottom, incommunication with said top; and a locking means, in communication withtop and said bottom.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein said top has aloop.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein said bottom has a loop.
 4. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein said bottom is configured to hold aconventional glass.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein said bottom isconfigured to hold a conventional dish.
 6. The system of claim 1,wherein said bottom is configured to receive food.
 7. The system ofclaim 1, wherein said bottom is configured to receive a liquid.
 8. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein locking means is a combination lock.
 9. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein said top and said bottom are microwavable.10. The system of claim 1, wherein said locking means is a key lock. 11.The system of claim 1, wherein said bottom has at least twocompartments.
 12. The system of claim 1, wherein said top and saidbottom are configured to hold a beverage container snugly.
 13. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein said top and said bottom are configured tohold a plate snugly.